Reflections on some statements of Al-Allamah Rabee Bin Hadi Al-Madkhali 87

The Wasiyah of Shaikh, Al-Allamah Rabee Bin Hadi Umayr Al-Madkhali, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away on the night of Thursday, the 15th of Muharram, 1447 AH. His (Janazah) prayer was performed in the Prophet’s Mosque at dawn on Thursday. He was buried in the Baqi, may Allah have mercy on him and grant him a spacious abode in Paradise.

The text of the Shaikh’s Wasiyah

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His assistance, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, there is no one to misguide him, and whomever He (abandons) to stray (due to their own fault), there is no guide for him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. To proceed:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah. [1]

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَآءً وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا

O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you. [2]

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُوا۟ قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا
يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). [3]

Indeed, the best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The worst of all matters are the newly introduced ones (in the religion), and every newly invented matter (in the religion) is a Bidah, every Bidah is misguidance and every misguidance is in the fire.

This is a Wasiyah for all the Muslims – from a weak servant (of Allah) who is about to leave this worldly life and approaching the Hereafter – to fear Allah as He should be feared, hold firmly to His rope altogether, not to be divided and not to divide their religion; for in the fear of Allah and holding firmly to His rope – the Book (i.e. the Qur’an) and the Sunnah – (depends) their happiness and Siyadah in this worldly life (ie. honour, nobility, upright leadership, dominance, authority in this worldly life) and the Hereafter (i.e. honour, safety in the Hereafter); and in division and diferring lies their humiliation and disgrace. Their unity and cohesion cannot be accomplished through anything except the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Therefore, it is (incumbent upon) them to adhere to this great means (or determinant) that leads to happiness in both this worldly life and the Hereafter, and steer clear of what opposes it, (such as) division and differing, which are both the cause of misery and humiliation in this worldly life and the Hereafter.

I advise the Salafis – and they are the ones distinguished through adherence to the Book and the Sunnah, and calling to both of them – that they intensify their efforts in rectifying the conditions of Muslims in (terms) of creed, worship, politics, economics, society, and other aspects of Muslim life that should all be based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. They should make this clear to all the Muslims and highlight their good intentions and objectives, and that they desire nothing else for this Ummah except goodness – every goodness – and that they do not desire except to repel all evils and Makruh (harm, injury, mishap etc) that have befallen this Ummah due to their distance from adherence to the Book and the Sunnah.

I advise the students of knowledge and the scholars [من مختلف الاتجاهات – adhering to the different perspectives, viewpoints] to fear Allah with regards to their Ummah, and to strive with all they are able to return the Ummah to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to that which the pious predecessors were upon in terms of creed, worship, politics, social matters, and manners; and that they should completely distance from (vain) desires and the causes of differing that has gravely harmed the Ummah. It is high time for these people to rise to accomplish these noble goals and to steer Muslims away from anything that leads them to weakness and humiliation. The latter part of this Ummah can only be rectified by what rectified its first part. It is (incumbent upon) everyone to understand that this Ummah did not attain superiority over all other nations except that it is the best nation brought forth for mankind, enjoining good, forbidding evil, and believing in Allah.

The early Muslims – the companions and those who followed them in righteousness- attained this Khayriyyah (superiority or virtue over other nations) based on the testimony of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: “The best of the people are those living in my generation, then those who will follow the latter and then those who come after them. Then there will come after them people who will be treacherous and will not be trustworthy, they will bear witness without being asked to do so (a), and they will vow, but will never fulfil their vows, and fatness will appear among them”. (b) (4)

And his, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, statement: “The righteous (pious people will depart (die) in succession one after the other, and there will remain (on the earth) useless people like the useless husk of barley seeds or dates; and Allah will show no concern for them”. (5)

Therefore, it is (incumbent upon) the bearers of knowledge to advise for the sake of Allah, His Book, His Messenger, for the (welfare) of believers, for (the welfare) of Muslims in general and in specific, in order that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, may rescue those among the Muslims who are in a state of Al-Ghutha (i.e. a state tantamount to uselessness, insignificance, etc) and degradation because there is no other reason for this except due to the distance many among them are from adhering to the Book of Allah and seeking judgment from Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. If they declare this with diligence and truthfulness, it will lead to great goodness for this Ummah.

We ask Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, to fulfill this and to keep all causes of humiliation and disgrace away from the Muslims, (distanced from) the causes of division, envy, animosity, and hatred, whose effects are felt (observed, perceived) by everyone who wishes good for this Ummah.

Dictated by Rabee Bin Hadi Al-Madkhali On the Thursday evening of 25th of Dhul-Hijjah, 1420 AH.

Written by his student and son, Khalid bin Dhuhai Al-Dhafiri. And he ordered me to publish it in every place, in newspapers and elsewhere.

The Wasiyah of Shaikh, Al-Allamah Rabee Bin Hadi Umayr Al-Madkhali, may Allah have mercy on him (was) written at the end of the year 1420 AH during a time when he was severely ill, may Allah have mercy on him. He dictated it to Shaikh Khalid Adh-Dhafiri while he was on his bed in Al-Awali in Makkah, may Allah forgive him and grant him a place in the highest paradise. [https://rabee.net/9155-2/]

[1] Aal Imran 102
[2] Al-Nisaa 1
[3] Al-Ahzab 70-71
[4] Al-Bukhari 3650
[5] Al-Bukhari 6434

Translator’s addition:

(a) Al-Allamah Rabee, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated in Marhaban Yaa Talib Al-Ilm pages 268-270: They give false testimony, act treacherously and deceitfully. They behave in a very sinful manner and follow evil desires, except those whom Allah safeguards amongst the Ta’ifatul Mansurah– those whom Allah’s Messenger, and blessings of Allāh be upon him, praised. Therefore, it is obligated to us to acquire knowledge for the sake of Allah and act upon it. Ignorance is a deadly disease and knowledge is a weapon that will destroy you if you do not act upon it, and Allah’s refuge is sought.

Regarding the statement, “They will bear witness without being asked to do so”. Imam An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “This can mean that they bear witness before being asked, or they bear witness based on falsehood, or they give witness without being from those who are worthy of it”. [Sharh Sahih Muslim 12/17)]. However, there is another Hadith in which the Prophet stated: “Should I not inform you about the best of witnesses, they are those who bear witness before being asked”. The scholars say that what is intended by this hadith is for example: someone has a witness to give on behalf of another person based on truth, but the person does not know about it, so he informs the person about it; or for example, a person has already passed away and another person knows what the deceased person has left behind as inheritance, so he bears witness to that and makes it known. [Fat-hul Baari 5/260]

[b] Regarding the statement, “And fatness will appear among them.’’ – Meaning: These people give importance to the means of fattening themselves – food, drink and over-indulgence. Their only concern is their bodies and fattening themselves. As for being fat without choice, one cannot be blamed for that, just as a person cannot be blamed for being tall, short, black or white. [Majmu Al-Fatawaa 10/1056 -By Imam Muhammad Ibn Salih Al-Uthaymeen, may Allāh have mercy upon him]